MotoGP Austin - Qatar podium 'extra motivation' for Rossi

Factory Yamaha's Valentino Rossi goes into the inaugural Austin MotoGP round off the back of success at Qatar but knows that it will be a difficult race is his testing form is anything to go by.

The Doctor spent two says at at the Circuit of the Americas and was well off the pace compared to fastest man Marc Marquez but says that the Doha podium gives his great motivation to crack on.

“Austin will not be an easy race but for sure the podium in Qatar is giving us extra motivation. We have done a great job there and we can go to Austin with some more certainty. Our competitors will be very strong but our goal will be to bring home points," said the nine-time world champion.

"I am confident, I really like the track and my first impression, when we tested there, was that the circuit is beautiful. The track lay-out is very special: there is some downhill and uphill and the first braking zone is very technical. For me turn two is the best though and after when you enter into the chicane. The straight is very long, which is good for overtaking. I really look forward to racing at COTA.”